Career Archives - Page 2 of 31

Why MilSpouse Entrepreneurs Need To Connect With Syracuse’s IVMF Programs

February 27, 2018 By Jessica Hall Leave a Comment

I consider myself a freelancer and an independent contractor. I’m not an entrepreneur, at least that’s what I’ve been telling myself.

But after attending the Institute for Veterans and Military Families’ Veteran EDGE conference, I’m thinking it’s time to incorporate and make my business owner dreams a reality.

Why?

Because at Veteran EDGE, I could see the power that the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) programs at Syracuse University have for business owners – not just veterans, but military spouses too. Serving military families is at the core of what IVMF does every day.

Why Military Spouse Entrepreneurs Should Connect With Syracuse's IVMF Programs

Photo Credit: Institute for Veterans and Military Families

IVMF Founder and Executive Director Michael Haynie recognizes the sacrifices of military families and that’s why their suite of programs are open to all military family members. He recently testified in front of Congress about the sacrifices made by military families during the last 45 years of an all-volunteer force.

“Taking care of military families can’t be a nice thing to do, it’s part of our future defense.”

– Michael Haynie

IVMF Founder and Executive Director

Where does IVMF fit into supporting military families? They offer programs for those connected to the military community and they also research veteran and military family-focused programs and policies to inform their programs as well as their partners.

The conference I attended, Veteran EDGE, is designed for entrepreneurs who are growing their businesses. They may have attended one of IVMF’s other programs, including V-WISE, Boots to Business, and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. The 3-day conference featured topics including habits of profitability, work-life balance, and negotiation. Speakers included veterans turned entrepreneurs and experts in their field to help these business owners take their companies to the next level.

Here’s why every military spouse who wants to launch a business should connect with IVMF:

IVMF’s Like-Minded Community

Sandra Gonzalez, a veteran and military spouse attended V-WISE in 2013 with an idea, and soon thereafter founded Docere eLearning. She now runs that business and coaches fellow entrepreneurs on how to successfully pitch their companies at competitions.

“(V-WISE) showed me all my possibilities, either running a small company or make it bigger,” Sandra said. “And later as I progressed they had impactful tools that I used, and gave me the social and moral support with veteran and military spouse friends.”

Photo Credit: Institute for Veterans and Military Families

I saw this at the conference, with people catching up with one another but also making business connections. In one breakout session, attendees shared and brainstormed ideas with one another as the session progressed. You could instantly see that people were there to learn and help each other. At lunch someone mentioned to me that at other conferences that’s not the case, which makes IVMF events even more special.

IVMF Has Resources for Veterans and Military Spouses

Sandra told me about the resources she’s gotten through IVMF, including help filing her trademark. This can be costly once you factor in hiring a lawyer, but with the resources from the IVMF network she only had to pay the filing fees.

Courses like V-WISE and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans Families offer support for a full year following completion. That means that the program is not just a one time thing, they are there with you as you continue your idea and build your company.

Their Business Partners

IVMF sponsors come from a wide range of companies but they all have one thing in common – they want to support the military community, even if you don’t do business with them.

First Data is not only committed to hiring veterans and military spouses with First Data Salutes, but they believe in investing in entrepreneurs. They wanted to know, “how do we have an impact (on the military community) beyond hiring?” Their business is to help grow businesses by processing payments at stores of all sizes, but their investment in IVMF focuses on investing in entrepreneurs.

“It’s a force multiplier,” said Vivian Greentree, Senior Vice President, Head of Global Corporate Citizenship at First Data Corporation. “Veterans and military spouses hire veterans and military spouses. It’s good business to do business with veteran- and military-owned businesses.”

It’s good business to do business with veteran- and military-owned businesses.

Click To Tweet

Expert Speakers

The lineup of speakers, from keynotes to breakout sessions, were phenomenal. They were experts in their field – from CFOs to successful entrepreneurs to college professors – each brought their own style and story to the attendees. Many of the experts were veterans themselves, making it easier to have that common connection as they from service member to business owner.

One of my favorite sessions was on personal branding to negotiate. How do these go hand in hand? Well, without a positive presentation of yourself (your brand) you may not land that deal. The speaker, a professor form Louisiana State University broke down just how to leverage your brand to be successful.

Photo Credit: Institute for Veterans and Military Families

My biggest takeaway?

Facial expressions make up 55% of your likability. So before you go out to negotiate that next deal or partnership, practice your resting face to be pleasant and try to control those emotions throughout the meeting. If you overreact to something you see across the table, that could be a deal-breaker, and vice versa.

It’s Not Just About You

One of the most valuable sessions I went to was on Habits of Profitability (valuable, ha, see what I did there?). My biggest takeaway from that session was that when you build your business, look at ways that you can eventually remove yourself.

“But why?” I can hear you asking.

Because you don’t want to get stuck in the owner’s trap. The owner’s trap is essentially when the business can’t function without you, the owner, signing off on EVERYTHING. Where can you automate? How can you train and hand off tasks to new hires? How can you build up their leadership abilities to own their work?

Now does the buck ultimately stop with you? Yes.

But if someone has to come to you to approve every little thing or customers only talk to you, you can’t focus on continuing the growth of what you’re already doing. So yes, you ultimately have to hand things off to other people.

You could even hire military spouses and veterans to do that work, the ones you met at an IVMF program.

You could hire military spouses and veterans.

Click To Tweet

Why Should You Connect With IVMF?

Because they are committed to helping military spouse business owners not only launch but grow their companies. They bring in the people that not only know firsthand how to do that, but want to help you, and not in a cheesy “give me your money” way. They honestly are taking time out of their schedules to be there.

And IVMF programs are reasonably priced. These aren’t gimmicks. They are beneficial programs that have helped members of our community be successful, like MadSkills who won a pitch competition and are graduates of V-WISE.

Learn more about IVMF programs today and apply to participate in their programs by clicking here.

Military Spouse Employment: What About After You’re Hired?

February 21, 2018 By Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

by Alison Maruca, Guest Contributor

Personally, the military spouse label has never hindered my job search. In fact, it’s helped it, which I know is an uncommon experience related to military spouse employment.

My biggest challenges have always come after I’ve signed the contracts, hung my coffee cup in the breakroom and attended my first staff meeting.

Military Spouse Employment: What About After You’re Hired?

Vacation Days

I’m not sure about you, but I always seem to come into a new job already asking for time off. Pre-deployment leave, family events, vacations and such are already on the calendar and so I’ve either gone “into the hole” or taken leave without pay.

Add to that, I’m also a drilling Reservist and often come into new positions with drill weekends or my 2 weeks of annual training scheduled. And while legally, they can’t keep me from asking off for those commitments, I’ve never been able to accrue enough leave to take a paid vacation or sick day. While this isn’t a challenge unique to the military community, we do often come with significant scheduling hurdles like deployments, time at sea or in the field, sick children, etc.

Not having to wait 6 months or an entire year to earn those benefits, when you may only be in the job for 12 to 18 months, would increase family-work life balance, as well as make for a much happier employee.

Retirement Benefits

Our service members earn an incredible retirement that most Americans dream about. The new Blended Retirement System has even afforded service members the opportunity to take advantage of a good retirement without having to serve the full 20 years.

But in the civilian world, you typically need to work somewhere for a long period of time to fully reap the benefits of the company’s retirement option, if they even offer it at all.

However, our transient lifestyle and lengthy resume can create a need to set-up retirement accounts outside of our employer or manage a smattering of smaller accounts sprinkled around the country. Not ideal for a financially stable retirement.

With the rising costs of living, a dual-retirement income is almost necessary to ensure you maintain a comfortable lifestyle or else you may wind up working until you’re 70 years old. And nobody wants to do that.

Family Time

In our Navy family, my husband rolls every few years from sea duty to shore duty. We’ve recently finished a pretty challenging 3 years of sea duty that included 2 full deployments and lots of time at sea in between birthing 2 babies and moving twice. Bottom line: he was gone a lot and life was stressful.

Now that we’re on shore duty, we’re focusing on family time and I’m making a conscious decision to not work outside the home, which allows us to have the flexibility to go, do and see all the things in our new duty station.

When I began to interview for positions, I didn’t find too many employers that were willing to allow me the flexibility and support I know I need to ensure that our family is our top priority right now. Yes, it’s a choice I made. However, balancing the demands of a new job while also trying to put family first is a challenge that most civilian families don’t have to endure quite like we do.

This small window of time in our lives doesn’t come often and so we’re trying to soak up as much family time as we can before we return to the constant stream of watching the ship pull away from the pier.

Having an employer understand the importance of family time in our crazy lifestyle is not very common and only adds to the stress of a dual-working military family.

While only good things can come of more legislation in favor of hiring military spouses, there’s still so much work to be done. And while organizations and politicians can fight to get us the jobs that are equivalent to our education and experience, there’s so much more to the entire concept of “military spouse employment.”

So let’s expand the conversation and start talking about not just finding jobs, but finding and creating jobs that work with our military lifestyle.

NextGen MilSpouse discussed Sen. Tim Kaine’s newly introduced Military Spouse Employment Act of 2018 on Happy Hour Episode 67. Click here to listen to the full episode.

Alison is a busy mom, Navy wife and Naval Reserve officer. She is passionate about supporting other military families and raising awareness of the unique challenges associated with military life. You can usually find her planning her family’s next big adventure or binge-watching Netflix with a glass of wine.

“The Best Piece Of Career Advice I’ve Ever Received Is To Apply For Every Job That I’m Interested In, Even If I Don’t Meet The Qualifications.”

February 21, 2018 By NextGen MilSpouse Staff Writer Leave a Comment

NextGen MilSpouse is going beyond traditional career tips and tricks for military spouses! We are sharing the real stories of working military spouses (just like you!) and their professional success stories on Wednesdays.

Name: Melissa Rogers

Years as a military spouse:

Tell us your job title/profession:

I am the owner and creator of Modified by Melissa, a professional organizing business.

Is this full-time, part-time, hourly, contract or freelance work?

Contract

How long have you been working in this career field?

11 months

Do you work in an office, telecommute from home (or Starbucks), or a little bit of both?

Office is at home and sessions are performed in clients’ homes

Tell us one thing you love about your job.

I love helping my clients create beautiful and functional spaces; and helping them to relieve themselves from the stress of clutter.

How did you get this position? Was it a resume, referral, job fair? Spill your magic.

I was looking for a new career path when we moved to San Antonio and I always liked the idea of being my own boss. A family friend mentioned how wonderful they thought I was at helping others declutter and re-organize their spaces.

The light bulb clicked and I went to work!

What is your No. 1 tip for a military spouse on the hunt for a job?

Don’t settle for a job because you think it’s the only thing you’re going to get. If you can’t find a job that satisfies you, create one!

How do you feel about failure?

I don’t think anyone “likes” failure but I know I definitely grow from it every time it happens.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced while trying to maintain a career while living the military lifestyle?

Being fulfilled and feeling like I’m doing what “I’m meant to” be doing.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? Tell us the worst too, while you’re at it.

The best piece of career advice I’ve ever received is to apply for every and any job that I’m interested in, even if I don’t meet the qualifications. You never know who else is applying for the position and you may just happen to be the MOST qualified candidate. I have gotten a few jobs with this mentality!

Worst advice I’ve received was to apply for an entry level job for a position I already had a ton of experience with. I shouldn’t have to start at the bottom time and time again!

Who is in your support squad and what role do they play in supporting your career?

My support squad is diverse! My family has been amazing at encouraging me and reminding me that I’m brave for starting my own business. I couldn’t do it without them!

My husband has a very different mindset than I do about most things, so I love using him as a sounding board for ideas and suggestions. It helps me to get outside of my head.

And I’m lucky enough to have some wonderful friends who build me up and show their pride by sharing my blog posts and other things on their social media. It’s pretty amazing!

Do you and your spouse or partner split household tasks? How do you do it?

We do split tasks! It just depends on our schedules really. If a week is more hectic for him or for me, we switch up tasks. But he always rocks the cooking and dish cleaning because I’m terrible at cooking and despise those dirty dishes! I’m thankful for my team player!

Share your best life-hack for saving time or sanity during the work week.

My “hack” for saving time is honestly just making a list of my to-do’s. Referencing that list often, ensures I stay focused and accomplish what needs to be done.

If you had an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?

More paper crafting! I always WANT to work more on my scrapbooking projects, but I just can’t seem to make the time for it.

If you were a superhero, what would be your super power?

Hearing noises from miles away! I’m always asking my husband if he “hears that” and he just looks at me like I’m crazy!

Are you a working military spouse? Do you want to share your career tips and tricks? Fill out the MilSpouses Who Work It Q&A today. Click here to complete our form.

“It Has Been So Satisfying To Help Improve Lives At A Duty Station I Loved.”

February 14, 2018 By NextGen MilSpouse Staff Writer Leave a Comment

Name: Lizann Lightfoot

Years as a military spouse:

Tell us your job title/profession:

I’m a self-published author, a blogger and a freelance writer

Is this full-time, part-time, hourly, contract or freelance work?

Freelance

How long have you been working in this career field?

About 3 years. I published my first book in 2014, then started freelance writing in 2016.

Do you work in an office, telecommute from home (or Starbucks), or a little bit of both?

I work from home, which is important to me since I have 4 young children.

Tell us one thing you love about your job.

I love getting paid to do something I enjoy (writing) and the fact that my work helps other military spouses!

I am all about supporting and encouraging other people as they navigate the challenges of military life. My first book, Welcome to Rota: The Unofficial Guide to Getting Settled, and Enjoying the Culture, Food, and Travel Opportunities of Southern Spain is a guidebook for military families stationed overseas in Rota, Spain. I wanted to make it easier for people to move to Spain, find houses and schools, and get adjusted to Spanish culture. It has been so satisfying to help improve lives at a duty station I loved.

Now, as a blogger and freelancer, I write articles about handling military life – resources, money-saving advice, and strategies for handling deployments or raising children on your own. These tips can truly improve the quality of military spouse life. I love meeting amazing military spouses online and connecting with new people.

How did you get this position? Was it a resume, referral, job fair? Spill your magic.

Becoming a self-published author was a 1-person show. I decided to write a book based on our experiences in Spain. I used Create Space, an Amazon publishing company, to be my own editor, publisher and marketing department. It was a lot of work, but the book continues to sell well and receive excellent reviews even after 3 years, so I consider it a success.

The writing and editing jobs happened more indirectly. I started a blog called The Seasoned Spouse. As an English major, I wanted my posts to be well-written and professional, even if I didn’t have a big audience. I reached out to all kinds of military spouse websites, companies and individuals, offering to do guests posts for them.

Some ignored me, but others followed through.

Soon, I had a trickle of paid offers from various blogs, magazines and companies. I continued to build my portfolio and the work steadily increased.

What is your No. 1 tip for a military spouse on the hunt for a job?

Set goals, and then…just keep swimming. You have to put your eggs in a lot of baskets because you don’t know which one will hatch, haha.

With blogging, it is typical to make no profit for the first 3 months. During that time, you should be reaching out and networking, but it will take a while for anything to start paying off.

The same is true with writing a book – there is a lot of work upfront before there is any profit. So just keep trying and doing your best.

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase Lizann’s book via our links, you help us keep the lights on and the good times rolling.

How do you feel about failure?

It’s frustrating. But sometimes it can also be a learning opportunity or a chance to go in a new direction. I try to stay positive about most things.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced while trying to maintain a career while living the military lifestyle?

Living overseas was the hardest. There are rules about how and where you can apply for jobs, so opportunities are really limited. That’s partly why I chose to write my book: creating and selling a product on base was one of the few ways to earn income while stationed overseas.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? Tell us the worst too, while you’re at it.

Best advice: “You can do this.” (It’s the people who believe in me that make my work possible. Otherwise it would be way too easy to just give up.)

Worst advice: “You should just homeschool.” Yes, I have 4 kids. Yes, I spent a few years unemployed and staying home with my babies. That doesn’t mean I have to spend every moment with my kids or wait until they are all grown up before I work again.

Who is in your support squad and what role do they play in supporting your career?

My husband has always been very supportive of anything I do. Whether I was a stay at home mom, working on my book, or spending evenings writing on my laptop, he has always been my biggest motivator and fan.

Do you and your spouse or partner split household tasks? How do you do it?

I wish I could say yes. But sadly, not really.

Too many years of deployments and me being a stay at home mom means that I am responsible for everything with the kids, laundry, cleaning, shopping, and cooking.

Here’s the trade-off: he’s the one who gets up to go to work when it’s still dark. My strategy is to have a routine and do a little bit of laundry or cleaning every day so it doesn’t build up. I cook every day, but make use of my crockpot or cooking in large batches to make it easier.

Share your best life-hack for saving time or sanity during the work week.

You have to out-source some things. I take the toddler to a babysitter/preschool 2 mornings per week. When I was writing the book, I had a housekeeper come to clean once a week.

Tell us one piece of tech you couldn’t live without that isn’t your phone.

I love my headset and dictation software. It makes writing go so much faster, and blocks out some of the noise from the kids or TV.

Favorite app for making the most of your day?

Fitbit helps me feel like I accomplish something each day, if I balance food and exercise.

Must-have song on your productivity playlist?

Quiet. I don’t listen to music. I crave silence.

If you had an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?

Probably spend more time snuggling the kids and husband, because that’s my fave.

If you were a superhero, what would be your super power?

Flying. I could get places so much faster!

Are you a working military spouse? Do you want to share your career tips and tricks? Fill out the MilSpouses Who Work It Q&A today. Click here to complete our form.

How I Used Social Media To Land My Job

February 12, 2018 By Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

by Sam Lark Jr, Guest Contributor

As a military spouse, I’ve realized that applying online for a job and waiting to be contacted by the hiring manager doesn’t work.

I used social media to establish my personal brand, bypass job applications, get noticed and hired (twice).

In order to tell this story, we need to lay some groundwork.

I have a chemistry degree. I worked for several years in research and development. In 2011, I left my position on good terms, and the only place I ever knew to be home, Philadelphia. I moved to Orlando to follow my heart. My wife Michelle (who was my girlfriend at that time) was living in Florida. I dropped everything and took a chance on love. Looking back, I’d do it all over again.

The economy in Florida was tough. After struggling for 3 years, we took a chance on Michelle getting into the Workforce Opportunity Services’ (WOS) program designed to get veterans careers in the corporate world. We had to move to New Jersey for this program.

In the beginning of 2015, I attended a job fair for veterans and military spouses. I met a regional manager of Orkin Pest Control. We exchanged information and connected on LinkedIn. At the time, I was working as a telemarketer. Some would say this role didn’t use the full potential of my degree.

However, I turned those lemons into lemonade.

Social media gives you the power to control the narrative and dismiss preconceived notions about…

Click To Tweet

I wrote an article on LinkedIn, “Why You Should Value Your Job As A Telemarketer.” No more than 12 hours after publishing, the regional manager I met at the job fair several months prior, sent me a message on LinkedIn. He said that a role became available and invited me in for a job interview.

If he and I weren’t connected on LinkedIn, he wouldn’t have gotten the notification about my article (note: I was able to see that he viewed my article) and may not have thought about me for the position. I went in for the interview and accepted their job offer.

After nearly a year of working as a contractor in the WOS program, Michelle was offered a full-time role! We had to move from New Jersey to Texas. When we arrived, I applied for a role at Main Street Hub.

I didn’t rely solely on my job application.

I used these 5 approaches on social media:

I used LinkedIn to make connections with employees holding the same job for which I applied, managers and the Co-CEOs/Founders of the company.
I had ongoing Twitter conversations with my current manager about his favorite college football team.
I created a Twitter list with current employees, managers and the company account.
I watched what was shared to learn more about the company culture and current projects.
I engaged with the company by commenting on and sharing their social media posts.

The above activities put me on Main Street Hub’s radar. Several weeks after submitting my application, their recruiter reached out to me for an interview. I ultimately became their first-ever hire from Twitter. They featured my story on the company’s blog.

Utilize social media to build your personal brand and control how potential employers see you.

– Sam Lark Jr, Military Spouse Who Works It

As a military spouse, you can use various social media platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) to stand out when applying for jobs. Social media will allow you to build your personal brand, frame your story how you’d like to be perceived and connect with people who can get you an “in” within companies.

As you interact on social media, it’s important to approach networking by seeking to provide value rather than only asking for things.

When companies are hiring, they aren’t only looking for candidates to meet the technical qualifications of the role. They are looking for culture fit as well. To determine this, they look at a person’s personality. Social media provides you a platform for companies to get to know you as a potential employee.

Whenever sharing content on social media, ask yourself these 3 questions before posting:

“If a potential employer saw this, would it skew their view of me?”
“Does this enhance the message I’m relaying with my personal brand?”
“Is this a political, religious or controversial topic?”

If allowed, people’s perception of military spouses can become reality. By only sharing what you want people to see on social media, you control the narrative and determine how people see you.

Sam Lark Jr is an account manager at Main Street Hub. He is passionate about sharing my message with students, career seekers, active duty & transitioning military, veterans, and military spouses. You can connect with Sam on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Stop Hustling And Start Succeeding In Your Business

February 9, 2018 By Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

by Jenny Hale, Guest Contributor

The draw of entrepreneurship and the flexibility that comes with it is attractive to the military spouses.

Entrepreneurship is an exciting adventure that offers a sense of pride, purpose and accomplishment for military spouses who are looking for an alternative career path that works around the demands of military life.

I’ve learned this first-hand working with military spouse and veteran entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship offers the opportunity for military spouses to set their own schedule, find the freedom to move their online businesses across the country if their spouse receives PCS orders, and spend the time they want with their kids and their family.

Entrepreneurship is hard work and doesn’t come easy.

There’s a saying that you work 80 hours a week as a business owner so you don’t have to work 40 hours for someone else.

While it depends on the business you run, I believe in embracing the hustle. A business isn’t built overnight and it does require time and effort.

If you’re passionate about your business, it shouldn’t feel like “work,” but you do want to ensure that you’re actually spending time on business tasks that bring a return on investment (ROI). Without ROI, you’re just hustling with no end in sight. Time management is key in business ownership and learning to prioritize the things that matter in order to make more money is vital.

As a military spouse entrepreneur, it’s easy to spend your whole day on social media and feel like you accomplished nothing. Your business needs marketing in order to make money, but it’s the No. 1 thing entrepreneurs lack a strategy on from my experience. Your marketing needs to be purposeful and focused.

Here are 4 ways to stop mindlessly hustling and better manage your business to make money.

Understand How Marketing And Social Media Works

When I speak with military entrepreneurs who are struggling with their marketing, I always find an underlying issue preventing them from finding success. Every entrepreneur knows they need to market their business and everyone says to use social media. However, beyond that, there is no strategy in place on what to post or how to use it.

Before you waste your time online, you need to understand how marketing works and how social media marketing is crucial. First, as a business owner, your job on social media is not to sell your product. This concept is shocking to business owners.

Your marketing plan needs to be purposeful and focused.

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Think about it! Before you started your business, what did you scroll on Facebook for? Often, it’s to see pictures of your friends and family. It was to post elements of your life and share experiences.

It wasn’t used on a day-to-day basis to buy a product or service from someone.

Your customers aren’t on social media to be sold to! They’re on social media to be social!

It’s your job as an entrepreneur to build their loyalty through relationships and by sharing your story too. People buy from those they like and know. So, if you’re on social media posting constant links, sharing promotions of your product or service, and otherwise not being social or providing helpful value to the community, you won’t find success on social media.

It’s easy to spend your whole day on social media and feel like you got nothing accomplished.

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If you’re already doing that and you’re not finding success, it may have nothing to do with your content, but actually how you’re posting. In fact, it probably has a lot to do with the pesky Facebook algorithm. Your content may be amazing, but it may not be published on your page in a way that Facebook or another social media platform wants you to post it for maximum success due to the algorithm.

If you don’t understand the data, trends and concept behind the algorithm and how you’re posting and using social media, you’re going to be hustling with no momentum that leads to success. To learn the ins and outs of the Facebook algorithm and why your strategy isn’t working, check out my blog on Beating the Facebook Algorithm by Finding Your Perfect Audience.

Create Your Content In Batches

Once you understand what to post and how to post your content on social media, it’s time to create your content marketing strategy. To maximize your time creating content, I recommend doing it in batches.

As a busy entrepreneur, find moments where you can focus on letting your creative energy flow. I find times where I’m stuck without my phone or reception to be the most productive for me (no distractions allows my best writing to happen).

I get a ton of work done on planes, traveling (dealing with time zone changes is the worst!) and late at night after everyone is asleep.

Once I start, I’m able to dedicate a few hours to letting myself write and share my story. It’s been great to batch create this content all at once and I’m able to get a month’s worth of blog and social media content created during these times. Find time where you can focus on writing and don’t let any distractions get in your way.

It’s OK if it’s not perfect – you can fix it later! Just set time aside to write and create!

Schedule Your Social Media

Once you have created your content, you don’t want it to go to waste! Set time aside to schedule posts. Facebook’s native scheduling tool allows you to schedule up to 6 months in advance.

Twitter is a fairly labor-intensive platform, as the life of a tweet lasts less than an hour on average. Scheduling tools like RecurPost (my favorite) and Hootsuite are great free options.

To save the most amount of time, batch create and schedule evergreen content, meaning it can be used again and again no matter what time of year it is. As you grow your business, collect this content and re-use it.

To save even more time, expand on your content through multiple mediums. If you wrote an article on a topic 6 months ago, create a video on the same content this month. Then, schedule your links through social media on repeat to continue to drive constant views back to your evergreen content.

Outsource When You Can

It’s good to ask for help! If you’re not sure about social media or marketing, reach out to a business that supports entrepreneurs in mastering it. Learn all you can and then, ask for help when you need it.

Jenny Hale is a marketing and social media coach consultant for military spouse and veteran business owners with military-themed businesses. Nicknamed “The Military Social Media Guru,” she uses her extensive background working with military non-profits, military-focused corporate companies, the Army, and as an entrepreneur to help others struggling to meet their business dreams. With the goal of bringing financial freedom to the military community, Jenny works to make an entrepreneur’s vision come to life. You can follow her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook Groups, and Facebook.

“I’d Love To Stop Time, Get Errands Done, And Then Re-Start It.”

January 31, 2018 By NextGen MilSpouse Staff Writer Leave a Comment

Name: Devon Gardner

Years as a military spouse:

Tell us your job title/profession:

Social Media Consultant. Owner and Founder of Devon Victoria Communications

Is this full-time, part-time, hourly, contract or freelance work?

I am a freelance consultant.

How long have you been working in this career field?

10 years

Do you work in an office, telecommute from home (or Starbucks), or a little bit of both?

Work from home

Tell us one thing you love about your job.

The flexibility of determining my own clients, schedule, workload and location!

How did you get this position? Was it a resume, referral, job fair? Spill your magic.

My background is in Public Relations. There is a natural cross-over with social media, so when I was working at a PR firm I started managing social media strategies for clients. Eventually, I worked solely in social media as the Director of Social Media at a digital marketing agency.

After 4 years at that agency, I decided to take a leap of faith and branch out on my own and start my own social media consultancy company. One of the best decisions of my life!

What is your No. 1 tip for a military spouse on the hunt for a job?

Network! My best clients have come from referrals from people who knew of me and my services. Since military spouses are often relocating, establishing your network in your new location is very important. Look up clubs and events in your industry and try to attend at least one per month.

How do you feel about failure?

I am very hard on myself and avoid failure at all costs, though I know that’s not the correct attitude.

Whenever I have children, I want to teach them how to fail and fail proudly so that they can learn from their mistakes because I think it is such a strong characteristic. I suppose I will have to face my fear of failure in order to teach them this lesson!

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced while trying to maintain a career while living the military lifestyle?

I have been very lucky that we were always located in one place, so I didn’t have to move around and switch jobs or re-network. But dealing with hectic training schedules and months of deployments certainly made it hard to focus on work whenever my husband was home because of wanting to prioritize our time together – so finding a balance and a boss who understood that was important.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received?

That no one will ever give it to you, you have to ask for it. (In terms of the position you want, the salary you want, etc.)

Who is in your support squad and what role do they play in supporting your career?

Definitely my husband. He is my biggest cheerleader and gives me the confidence I need to tackle big things like starting my business, ending a relationship with a difficult client, etc. Also, my parents.

Do you and your spouse or partner split household tasks? How do you do it?

Yes, and I am so appreciative of that. I cook, he does the dishes. I get all the laundry in the wash, he folds it. I do the grocery shopping, he keeps the closer eye on our finances, etc. We just sort of fell into that pattern – we’re both “do-ers.” However, there have been times when we have asked the other to help with xyz.

Share your best life-hack for saving time or sanity during the work week.

Prioritize sleep and healthy eating. I can’t be productive nor cheerful when I’m exhausted or eating poorly. Finding a way to get both will reap rewards.

Favorite app for making the most of your day?

I don’t use a lot of productivity apps…truly I use the good ol’ notebook with a daily to-do list!

Must-have song on your productivity playlist?

Anything country.

If you had an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?

Dedicate time to mindfulness, like meditation.

If you were a superhero, what would be your super power?

Stopping time! I always want more of it. I’d love to stop time, get chores/errands done, and then re-start it

Are you a working military spouse? Do you want to share your career tips and tricks? Fill out the MilSpouses Who Work It Q&A today. Click here to complete our form.

Episode 65: Will You Accept This Rose?

January 25, 2018 By NextGen MilSpouse Staff Writer Leave a Comment

Amanda Patterson Crowe gets the Happy Hour crew up to speed on Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Professional Network, formerly In Gear Career, and we ask a faithful podcast listener to accept our rose and be a future Happy Hour guest.

This Week’s Guest: Amanda Patterson Crowe, Hiring Our Heroes

Amanda Patterson Crowe is a senior manager for the Hiring Our Heroes Military Spouse Program and serves as director of the Military Spouse Professional Network for Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

In her role, Amanda manages more than 40 network locations creating career development and networking opportunities for career-minded military spouses in communities all over the globe. Amanda also manages and executes AMPLIFY, a two-day career intensive for military spouses in multiple locations across the United States. She is a Navy spouse living in Virginia with her two children.

Whether or not there is a network near you, be sure to join the Virtual Military Spouse Professional Network Facebook group. It’s one of our favorite Facebook groups.

NextGen MilSpouse Articles That Have Us Talking

Military Spouse Who Works It: Kellie Artis, Director of Communications and Business Development at MILLIE and Managing Editor of the MILLIE Journal

5 Things Not To Say To An Immigrant Military Spouse

How Your Military Family Can Travel Asia Like A Boss

Amy Brings Us The News From Military.com

Oooops – your prescriptions may have cost more if you picked them up at the beginning of January. We also talked about this in a video in the Happy Hour Facebook group.

In February, prescription prices WILL ACTUALLY go up. Just a little bit.

Jessica Tells Us What We Missed On Social Media

Enter the NextGen MilSpouse and Worldwide101 Remote Work Essentials giveaway before January 30 for the chance to win $375 worth of products including items from veteran- and military spouse-owned businesses.

A giant list of books written by military spouses from the MILLIE Journal.

NextGen MilSpouse’s Happy Hour Podcast is the official podcast of NextGenMilSpouse.com. We offer a fresh and modern take on military life for today’s military spouse. From navigating your career to surviving your next move, NextGen MilSpouse has you covered.

Our news and current events are brought to you by our friends at Military.com. Make sure you never miss a show or a story by subscribing to our podcast on iTunes or GooglePlay and by signing up for the NextGen MilSpouse Newsletter at NextGenMilSpouse.com. Still want more? Connect with us and other listeners in our Happy Hour Facebook Group.

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“I Love Connecting With Other Military Spouses While Helping Alleviate PCS Stress For Military Families”

January 24, 2018 By NextGen MilSpouse Staff Writer Leave a Comment

Name: Kellie Artis

Years as a military spouse:

Tell us your job title/profession:

Director of Communications and Business Development at MILLIE and Managing Editor of the MILLIE Journal

Is this full-time, part-time, hourly, contract or freelance work?

Part-time

How long have you been working in this career field?

In some form or another, I guess you could say since I earned my degree in the field – so on and off for 14 years. Communications is nice and generic like that. I have tinkered in other fields, but always with a slant toward what I know.

Do you work in an office, telecommute from home (or Starbucks), or a little bit of both?

Fully remote!

Tell us one thing you love about your job.

Hands down – the connections with other military spouses I’ve been able to make while helping alleviate PCS stress for military families. In order to build the installation guides for gomillie.com, I have had the privilege of hosting virtual focus groups at over 70 installations where milspouses gave me all the juicy intel on living near xyz installation.

We laugh, we commiserate and we exchange hard-earned nuggets of information to help the next family reporting to that duty station get plugged in quickly!

How did you get this position? Was it a resume, referral, job fair? Spill your magic.

I stumbled across a company that I was so excited about that I couldn’t resist applying for a position that I was completely unqualified for! A friend forwarded me a job listing from a Facebook group (probably Milspo Project or In Gear Career) for a social media coordinator position with MILLIE – a brand new company looking to change the way military families PCS.

Having ZERO experience with social media management beyond my own personal profile management, I applied. I was honest with the team about my lack of experience but stressed my ability to pick up new tech skills, my innate curiosity and passion for learning new things. I was passionate about the mission of this company and focused each interview on convincing them to let me in (in any capacity) on what they were doing.

After two interviews, I was not offered the social media position.

However, the forward-thinking founders offered me something much more suited to my talents. The position I landed was something they had planned on filling later on down the road, but since I was there, capable, and eager they went ahead and made room for me on the team.

What is your No. 1 tip for a military spouse on the hunt for a job?

Start with companies or an industry that you want to work in, then get your foot in the door whether they’re hiring for what you want to do or not. Even (or ESPECIALLY) if there isn’t an open position, propose what you could offer them and be willing to work through a trial period.

If you’re passionate about the company to start with, pursue them, identify a need that they may not even know they have, and show how you can fill it. Most of my resume is made up of positions that companies created for me once I showed them how I can help them out. Be willing to work out a trial period with less than ideal pay so you can prove your worth to them, but set a solid date for an evaluation (I usually do 30 days) where you guys can evaluate your role and a salary that you’ve proven your worth.

Sadly, the odds of finding the perfect job listing when you arrive at a new duty station are pretty slim. So, reach out to companies that you could see yourself working for, then go for it!

You never know what conversations are going on behind the scenes and what future needs can potentially be.

Even if you don’t snag a position at that time, at least you’re now on their radar. Be confident in what you bring to the table, and pursue anything that looks interesting. Don’t be afraid to make connections and utilize your networks! You never know what could turn up.

How do you feel about failure?

I mean, it’s never fun but if viewed through a healthy lens failure can be transformative.

There is no innovation without failure, and creativity thrives in environments where taking risks is encouraged.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced while trying to maintain a career while living the military lifestyle?

Understanding my value.

Yes, I may move in two years, but the two years that you have me as an employee will be insanely productive. Yes, I may be distracted and preoccupied when my husband is gone and my kids are sick, but I am loyal, trustworthy and resilient.

Yes, you as an employer may be taking a risk on an unknown by hiring a military spouse, but if you’re open to some unconventional practices (like letting me telecommute or operate in another time zone) you’ll see productivity soar.

Yes, my resume is hilarious and makes utterly no sense, but if you take a step back and look at the broader picture you’ll see someone who has amassed an impressive array of skill sets in a variety of industries with tenacity, creativity and grit.

Learning to sell all of those things to potential employers has been a challenge, but now I know my value and will fight for it.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? Tell us the worst too.

Best – Always push through “no.” No hardly ever means no, so once you determine how to push through that, an entire world of possibilities can open up to you. Whether that is getting what you need or want, or doing it for a boss, don’t ever take a no at face value. Regroup and figure out another approach. “Maybe” is something everyone can work with.

Worst – I once had a boss tell me that “you can’t trust anyone to do their job.”

I was an executive assistant at the time to a man who had a penchant for micro-management. He basically trained me to follow up on EVERY minute aspect of my day, double-triple-quadruple checking behind literally everything I ordered/hired/booked. I spend an enormous amount of time making sure that things (as sold) would be delivered. There were many times that it worked out well for me since someone on the other end had, indeed, dropped the ball. But, I think there’s so much more value in propping people up for success (particularly subordinates) rather than expecting them to fail.

Who is in your support squad and what role do they play in supporting your career?

We have a killer team at MILLIE and that extends well beyond our core team. Our MILLIE Scout network of 100+ milspouses are crucial in the work I do. We lean on them to help us fill our focus groups, shoot area photos, create commute charts (they literally drive to the points!), and helping us spread our message! All I have to do is call out to our Scout Squad, and they show up in droves to contribute information that will help the community!

They are the reason we have been able to accomplish so much this past year!

In that same vein, our AgentHeroes (MILLIE’s network of 600+ milspouse and veteran real estate agents) are always ready and able to contribute valuable and relevant information about their communities! Everyone we’re connected with is super passionate about supporting our mission of Bringing Military Families Home.

My spouse is a huge support and has always been supportive of the random career paths I’ve pursued. He is patient and understanding with the after-hours work I put in once the kids are asleep. He’s also my biggest cheerleader when I’m feeling undervalued. There’s a huge need for validation when you have to reinvent yourself every few years, and he is attuned to that in me and always reaffirms my worth.

Do you and your spouse or partner split household tasks?

We probably split up household stuff the way most folks do, but my husband isn’t afraid to cook, vacuum, and do bedtime with the kids if I have a deadline or need to work at night.

Share your best life-hack for saving time or sanity during the work week.

Outsource as much as you can. I shop online for groceries, have a cleaning service to help with housework, and even a meal planning app. If someone else can get it done faster/better than I can, for less than I make, I hire it out.

Tell us one piece of tech you couldn’t live without that isn’t your phone.

My laptop. I WOULD say my Apple Watch, but Santa Claus dropped the ball this year so I’m putting it out to the universe in advance of my birthday.

Favorite app for making the most of your day?

Slack is probably the most essential for work, but I love Wunderlist for all my to-dos.

Must-have song on your productivity playlist?

I jam out to a 90s rap Pandora station when I really need to get *ish done.

If you had an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?

Read.

Or maybe nap.

Sadly, they usually go hand-in-hand!

If you were a superhero, what would be your super power?

I would love to have super-sonic speed reading abilities and a photographic memory. There are so many things I’m curious about and would love to explore!

Are you a working military spouse? Do you want to share your career tips and tricks? Fill out the MilSpouses Who Work It Q&A today. Click here to complete our form.

“The Challenge Of Being A Working Military Spouse And Mother Is Daunting”

January 17, 2018 By NextGen MilSpouse Staff Writer Leave a Comment

Name: Melissa Clampitt

Years as a military spouse:

Tell us your job title/profession:

Marketing Coach at Germono Advertising Company

Is this full-time, part-time, hourly, contract or freelance work?

Full-time

How long have you been working in this career field?

Been in marketing and public relations since my first internship in 2009

Do you work in an office, telecommute from home (or Starbucks), or a little bit of both?

Remotely, mostly from home.

Tell us one thing you love about your job.

Watching a client take my advice and then watch them flourish.

How did you get this position? Was it a resume, referral, job fair? Spill your magic.

I found a post about the position on the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network and went to the Germono Advertising Company website to check out the description.

When I started going through the company’s website, I was so inspired by the work Lindsey (the owner) was doing for military spouses and veteran-owned business, I knew I not only had to apply, but also personally thank her in my e-mail with my resume for supporting this community. Finally, a company that supported my milspo lifestyle.

Perhaps, it was my resume or maybe she could tell that the position and community she supports meant a lot to me.

What is your No. 1 tip for a military spouse on the hunt for a job?

For your interview, get your power suit on, make some powerful notes for how you can help the company (which means research it beforehand) as well as notes about yourself, and go in with confidence.

How do you feel about failure?

It’s not fun, but once you have taken a minute to mourn your failure, pull your head up and move on to the next. Failure is so important. It is what makes you to grow stronger and learn to make better decisions.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced while trying to maintain a career while living the military lifestyle?

The challenge of being a working military spouse and mother is daunting.

Many military spouses with children can probably relate that you frequently feel like a single parent. All the times your spouse is in the field or training or deployed plus every day he/she leaves for PT before everyone wakes up and comes home after dark.

All that means you are the main caregiver for your children.

Add in the fact that you’re most likely not living anywhere near family, and you quickly learn that when your have to do something for your children, you are SOL on anything else.

I couldn’t tell you the number of times that I had something work or career-related planned and had to cancel because I had a sick child. Or the number of times I wanted to participate in something, but had no child care. It makes maintaining a career very difficult.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? Tell us the worst too, while you’re at it.

Best – When someone asks you if you can handle something or know how to do something, but you don’t know how…just say yes and figure it out as you go. “You can’t learn how to swim without getting in the pool.”

Worst – Just go with it and it will all work out.

Who is in your support squad and what role do they play in supporting your career?

My mother is my career advice and career support leader. I go to her to share all my career news and business questions.

My BFF is my personal life support and sound board. Everything personal that I am struggling with I call her to talk it out or just vet.

Do you and your spouse or partner split household tasks?

Yes, but it’s probably a 80/20 split. He has a couple tasks that are “supposed” to be his responsibility such as taking out the trash. I pretty much do the rest and he tries to step in when he can tell I am losing my mind. He also occasionally gets a “honey-do list.” It’s OK though because I do a better job at cleaning.

Share your best life-hack for saving time or sanity during the work week.

For my own sanity, I have to keep the house semi-clean and orderly. I struggle to sit down and work unless my workspace is clean.

Since I mostly work from home, that means my house or at the room I am working in needs to feel comfortable and organized, not chaotic.

I think it promotes more organized thoughts as you are working.

Favorite app for making the most of your day?

Wunderlist

Must-have song on your productivity playlist?

I can actually be productive with some Disney princess tunes.

If you had an extra hour in your day, what would you do with it?

I could use it getting more work done in the evening or spending quality time with my spouse.

If you were a superhero, what would be your super power?

Teleportation. I could easily get from place to place and be able to travel the world in a blink of an eye!

Are you a working military spouse? Do you want to share your career tips and tricks? Fill out the MilSpouses Who Work It Q&A today. Click here to complete our form.